Expectations
by OnlyANorthernSong
Summary: The pirate code, you know? They’ll know to leave me behind.” One last smirk, one last quick but somehow-lingering gaze on Elizabeth, then, “That’s what they’d do if they was smart.” Sparrabeth
1. Chapter 1

I don't own PotC. Seriously.

Anywho, enjoy…?

(WHAT ELSE SHOULD I SAY?)

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Expectations

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Since when did it matter whether or not pirates lied, and cheated? Jack angrily ripped the cloth he was trying to tie, and threw it at the wall. And how was he to blame, at all? She was hardly setting a good example, after all- leaving her fiance- no, they'd been married, hadn't they?- for him? He thought he heard a noise and quickly stopped his tantrum, pressing his ear to the door- no, merely the wind. No crying Elizabeth, rushing to his door- ready to break it down- bursting with tears, and the need to apologize for being so bloody mad.

"Where does she get off, anyway?" Jack mumbled, grabbing the cloth savagely from the ground, then looking at it mournfully. He couldn't remember a time when he hadn't tied it about his head. And now it was ripped. Great. Perfect. He tossed it back down. "What did she expect? Honestly? A nice, honest little puppy of a lover?" He snorted at the thought. Sure, she'd shown belief that he was a good man, but even good men slip up, don't they? What could she have expected?

"Cap'n?" Jack leaped to his feet, pushing his hat onto his head in an effort to hide the lack of red upon his hair. Gibbs entered awkwardly. "Not to be intrudin', Cap'n, but we're nearing land."

"Are we?" Jack asked, then he nodded. "Good. Very good. Good job." Gibbs left as uncomfortably as he had entered. Jack fumbled with his hat as he removed it. "Stand tall, old buddy," A little voice whispered in his ear- a remnant of the madness that had seeped into his brain during his stay in the locker. "Thanks," He muttered as a bitter reply. Then he stuffed the hat onto his head, and straightened his shoulders.

After a few minutes of pacing, he forced himself to leave his quarters. Elizabeth was nowhere in sight. He gritted his teeth. Where was that woman? They were almost at Port! She was bloody impossible- always disappearing, and crying, and yelling. He frowned, then turned to Gibbs.

"Any sight of the insane?"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" All the low voices on the deck instantly stopped, and Jack gulped minutely. He turned, putting out his hands to show innocence.

"'Ello, love," He greeted her. Elizabeth simply crossed her arms.

"Jack Sparrow, you have some explaining to do." Jack was teetering between a few replies- shouting that he had been right, shouting that she was being annoying, timidly saying hollow apologies, and…

"It's Captain, love, _Captain _Jack Sparrow." Elizabeth snorted in disgust.

"Captain? I thought I was a Pirate Lord-" She frowned, then narrowed her eyes. "You know, the _Queen _of the Pirate Lords?"

"And, by that round of logic, I am, in fact, your loving and handsome Captain King," Jack answered, without missing a beat. Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"The Queen is much stronger then her so called 'loving' King."

"Only in Chess." Jack answered with a cheeky grin. Elizabeth slapped him. He frowned, cracking his jaw. "I think I might have deserved that."

"Think?" Elizabeth repeated. "_Think_?" She rolled her eyes, threw her hands up, and sighed exasperatedly. "You cheated on me! Not just with some lady, or some old friend…Jack- you paid someone to cheat with on me! In Tortuga!"

"I'm a pirate," Jack replied firmly, wishing suddenly that they had done this in his quarters, not out on the deck in front of the eyes of his crew. He rolled his eyes, "Lizzy- all there's to do in Tortuga is get drunk, and do what I did when I did it- and I like to not do one without the other." Elizabeth glared daggers at him, and he smiled innocently.

"You're infuriating!" She growled. The level of anger in her voice surprised him.

"Who're you gonna tell? William? I happen to think he wouldn't care much whether the man you cheated on him with cheated on you." What had meant to be a jeer came out cold, and Elizabeth simply froze, as if she had been slapped, and didn't quite know what to do. Jack knew he had said it wrong, and quickly said, "Lizzy-" But she shook her head, eyes already wet. William, as Jack well knew, was a sore spot with her still.

"I hope they catch you and hang you, _Captain _Jack Sparrow." She spat, retreating into her quarters. Jack felt like hanging his head, and curling up in some corner he could find, but instead, he turned, and smiled at his crew.

"Women. Gibbs, you were right- rotten luck to have 'em aboard. What say we port and have some fraternizing, savvy?" Gibbs seemed unsure, but the rest of the crew seemed overjoyed that he wasn't going to mull over his domestic dispute.

As they walked on the deck, Jack glanced over his shoulder. Elizabeth hadn't left the boat. He wondered distantly whether he should leave the Pearl with her- after all, she had a tendency to take things he loved… rum…his life…his heart, he supposed...

"Cap'n?" Jack jolted at Gibbs' voice, and he turned to the lightly-bearded man with a grin.

"Mr. Gibbs! What can I do for you?"

"I'm worried." Gibbs said bluntly. "T'arn't good luck to be fighting and arguing when a woman's on board, and a storm is brewing."

"Relax." Jack said easily, putting an arm around his first mate. He squeezed him, then let go quickly. "Elizabeth and I'll sort it out- you know me."

"You could talk an oyster of it's pearl," Gibbs relented uneasily. He met the Captain's eyes, then said, "But Elizabeth is no oyster."

"Neither was Davy Jones, but I nearly took my debt from him." Jack answered with a grin. There was just a shadow of fear stemming from the dark memory in his eyes, and Gibbs caught it. He didn't say anything about it, though, choosing instead to remind him,

"At the cost of 100 souls."

"And had I gotten them, I would have done well for myself." Jack answered simply. "Now, rest up, drink, and do as you will." He walked a mite faster then the stocky pirate beside him, and reached the bar far sooner than him. Smiling broadly at a bar waitress with a short skirt and ripped leggings, he said,

"I'll have rum and a kiss, love," She smirked at him dryly, then smacked a small glass of rum in front of him. He grinned. "Forgetting something?" She slapped him. He shrugged, then leaned back. "It seems this is not a good day for me." He smirked, and downed the drink. "If I order another, can I get that kiss?" Another slap, but he was sure her eyes said yes.

* * *

Elizabeth frowned, completely annoyed. She had assumed that within an hour, a very drunk Jack Sparrow would come swaying into her quarters, and then charmingly apologize, dissuade her of leaving, kiss her, and then fall asleep on the floor. But he hadn't come. She frowned, then rested her elbows on her knees, and her head on her hands. She wondered whether he was really so angry at her that he wouldn't apologize- but she wasn't terribly timid, or stupid. She knew he had been wrong.

"Jack, are you so stubborn?" She muttered under her breath, annoyance tinting her light voice. Laying back on her bed, she wondered for perhaps the billionth time why she loved the pirate. And whether he loved her as he so often drunkenly proclaimed.

* * *

"And of course, I had to save her- I am a gentleman, after all- so I leapt into the water, securing myself a place on the noose the next morning." Jack told the rapt young bar waitresses.

"What happened? How'd you escape?" The younger brunette asked, awed.

"There was an attack that very night by an old ship of mine…" _Wait for it… _"The Black Pearl." All four young women gasped, and the one who had slapped him earlier asked,

"You're Barbossa?"

"No, love," Jack said with a smirk, pulling the drink to his lips, and pouring it down his throat. "I shot Barbossa." He slammed his drink onto the table, and pulled back the sleeve of his shirt, revealing the Sparrow tattoo. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." All four women gasped, then blushed, then fawned over him.

"Cap'n," Gibbs walked up, and Jack turned to him with a raised eyebrow. Then he smirked.

"Mr. Gibbs-" He turned to the girls. "He's my first mate." The girls turned a prospective eye on the older pirate, who seemed uncomfortable with the attention.

"Not what I meant, Cap'n." Gibbs said. "Thanks, though. I meant we ought to be leaving soon."

"Why?" Jack asked sharply.

"It's nearly dawn," The first mate answered, sending a glance out of the window at the pale blue sky. Jack nodded.

"So?"

"This isn't Tortuga, Jack- pirates aren't exactly welcome here." Realization dawned in the sluggishly inebriated pirate's mind. Then he turned disappointedly to the girls. He'd been wooing them too long.

"Sorry Girls, Captain Jacks gotta run."

"Come on," The brunette said with a pouty lip."Stay a little longer…at least tell us what happened when the Pearl attacked…"

"Or how you shot Barbossa," The blonde added. Jack grinned toothily, then looked at Gibbs, who shrugged.

"I s'pose they won't be rushin' in at dawn, to scourer for the like o' you and me." Jack grinned.

"Good man! Grab a seat, Mr. Gibbs, and help me regal these fine little ladies with ou' stories." Gibbs smirked, rolled his eyes, and slid into the seat beside his captain.

"Alright, Cap'n," He said. "Where were you?" Jack grinned.

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Elizabeth pushed the door open a crack, to peek out into the early lights of dawn. Where was he? Where was anyone for that matter? They knew better then to stay out after dawn. People were less lenient when the sun was out, after all. She slipped from the cabin, and ran onto the docks. Where was her so-called 'Loving' pirate king? Knowing Jack, in deep trouble.

As Elizabeth wandered around some dusty dirt roads, she began to wonder what would happen was Jack to get on the ship while she was gone. Would he leave? She frowned at the thought, but was quickly distracted at the loud shout of,

"CAPTAIN! It's CAPTAIN!"

"Jack," She breathed in fear, hastily running in the direction of the familiar voice. When she was close, she peered around the corner of a bar, and saw Jack and most of the crew of the Black Pearl in chains, handcuffed together. Jack particularly looked drunk, but the others seemed more sober. A man who was obviously a guardian of the law was sneering at him.

"Captain and deck-swabbers all hang by the same rope." Jack didn't seem perturbed by this, but Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat. Hung? Jack?

"Then I'd like me title to hang with me." He responded, looking positively untouchable.

"Then good riddance to the two of ya," A woman with ripped leggings and a short skirt told him distastefully. She glared at him, and he grinned cheekily at her.

"You'll miss me, love- I know it." She scoffed, and went into the building Elizabeth was standing beside. Her heart was going a mile a minute- what was she supposed to do? Gibbs spotted her, and furrowed his brows. Then he subtly elbowed Jack, who looked at him first, then in the direction he was gazing. His kohl surrounded eyes widened in surprise, before he smirked. He looked adorable, and Elizabeth wanted to run to his side, break the chains, and take him back to his beloved Pearl. Jack smiled at her once more before turning- though this time it was less amused, and more sad- then said to the man, "You may have caught the captain, lad, but you didn't catch everyone." Elizabeth's eyes widened. Was he ratting her out?

"Oh?" The man asked, turning. Jack nodded, then grinned.

"And you won't. Cause they'll be far from here by tomorrow. The pirate code, you know? They'll know to leave me behind." One last smirk, one last quick but somehow-lingering gaze on Elizabeth, then, "That's what they'd do if they was smart."

But Elizabeth didn't fancy herself very smart at the moment. With a wicked and terrified grin, she turned back and ran. She didn't see the small hurt and huge relief on Jack's face.

But she did see the Pearl, and she knew that inside, a mind that had constructed great escapes had slept and lived. Along with lots of weapons.

TBC?


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own PotC, and that includes all the characters used in this fanfiction. Yep.

By the way, Gibbs and Jack have their own cell, because, I don't know, they wouldn't fit in the cell everyone else is in. It's not really important to the story, I just wanted them to be in a cell together alone.

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"Cap'n?" Jack didn't respond, the brim of his hat pulled down low- beneath his eyes. "Cap'n?" Gibbs reached forward to tug him out of whatever daydream or sleep he might have fallen into, and the captain jerked suddenly, and straightened his hat, as though he had been completely awake and sober, and was in control.

"Yes, Mr. Gibbs?"

"Are you having any sort of plan forming?" He asked nonchalantly, as if he didn't really care whether or not the rope would be around his throat within the week.

"A little." Jack answered, not ready to admit he hadn't even been thinking about an escape plan. His thoughts had been on Elizabeth. It didn't matter if they escaped anyway- there were few ships they'd be able to 'commandeer' here, and the Pearl was long gone, with lovely Lizzy steering it.

"Anything that might work?" Gibbs persisted.

"You never know," Jack answered, before pulling his hat low, signaling to his first mate that the conversation was over. Gibbs took the hint, and sighed quietly under his breath.

"And can you tell me what you're thinking about, then, if not a way to get out?"

"Try to guess, mate," Jack told him with a crooked grin, his eyes shut lazily. Gibbs smirked, raising his eyes to the dank ceiling.

"At least one of us has something like that to think about." Jack smirked at him, raising his hat with one hand.

"Why, Mr. Gibbs, I did offer you those girls at the-" Gibbs shot him a dark look before he could even finish the sentence. The Captain smiled at him pleasantly. "I'll be getting back to my planning, Mr. Gibbs," Gibbs finally tore the hard look from the other pirate's eyes.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

"Is it bad luck to be hung, then?" Jack asked dryly after a moment, wearing a knowing and amused grin. Gibbs turned, a hint of a smile on his dirty face.

"Aye, Cap'n," He said. "Very bad luck."

* * *

Elizabeth threw herself into the chair that Jack always sat in when charting where they'd sail to, or doing whatever else he did when he locked himself down here. Her eyes drifted through the dark and musty room, finally finding a few small bottles. She grabbed them almost viciously, needing a bit of inspiration, then frowned.

"And he complains of my taking all the rum?" She muttered, her nose wrinkling despite herself at the heavy scent pouring from the bottle. "He seems to be the one stealing all of it, and making away with it." She sighed, bit her lip, then said, "Come on, Elizabeth, you have to save him." _You're only one person, _a small and cruel voice whispered in her mind. She shushed it, and then opened the drawers of the table. "What have you in this place, Jack? There must be _something _helpful…" She fumbled through various objects and empty bottles, then found lots of parchment. "Plans?" She asked under her breath, hope shining in her eyes.

She frowned. Simply letters. An eyebrow raised. From and to Will?

"What secrets have you been hiding from me?" She asked softly, anger simmering in her blood. She often wondered at how unfaithful her pirate was, and how blatantly regardless of her feelings, but this? This was utter…utter…something! This was cruelty that couldn't be done unintentionally. Perhaps he felt for her on a physical level- perhaps even the slightest bit of emotional connection- but if he had wrote to her ex-fiancé to boast of how he had won, to speak of her as a prize- or perhaps to simply complain of her- it was too great a felony to dismiss- to forgive. She frowned, and suddenly realized that she was crying.

"What did you expect?" She asked bitterly, brushing the back of her hand over her wet cheeks. "He's a pirate." She stood angrily, and walked to the deck, pleased to feel the wind of the sea kiss her cheeks. She would leave…but- she frowned again. What had Jack even expected? The ship couldn't be crewed by one person…it was madness to even think it could. Had he simply wished to manipulate her? To make her save him? She frowned, and punched the mast. Pain stabbed her knuckles, and she looked down in shock. She slumped against the mast, and closed her eyes.

"Yo-ho yo-ho, a pirate's life for me." She whispered, tears trickling unhindered down her face.

* * *

"Well, _Captain_, you're set for tomorrow. You'll be first- you're special after all. The _Captain_." He repeated it with a dark smirk. Jack looked up at the guard who had arrested him, and grinned.

"And glad you know it, mate. But I seem to recall that a Captain goes down with his, or as the case may be, her, ship. And, if you had not, in fact, noticed," He pointed slightly out the barred windows where the gallows stood, prepared for him. The rope swung lazily in the slight wind, the gray sky behind it threatening. "That is not a ship." The guard sneered at him, then snarled sardonically,

"If it helps, we can name the gallows 'ship'. Either way, you will be hanging from them tomorrow morning."

"Hang on a second, mate," Jack said, following the guard as he began to walk to the door. "Even if we name it 'ship', it isn't mine! It's wrong to steal!" The door slammed. Jack turned to Gibbs, "Well. That went well, I think." Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"Have you any plans better then pestering the guard, Jack?" Jack shrugged.

"I'll find a way. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, after all, mate, and he's hardly even a swordsman. Wouldn't have caught me if I wasn't so bloody drunk."

"You're always drunk," Gibbs retorted. "It wasn't because of that."

"O'course it was, Mr. Gibbs," Jack answered huffily. "Unless you mean to say that that scraggly dog is, in fact, a better swordsman?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "I thought not." Jack snapped, then he threw himself onto the dirty floor, and sat beside his first mate. "I'll figure something out, savvy?" Gibbs glanced at him, his eyes weary.

"Aye, Cap'n."

* * *

"Just one letter," Elizabeth murmured, opening the drawer, and hefting out the large stack of parchment that she had replaced in the desk. "Just one." The first was from Will, she noted, with a mixture of emotions. She gently skimmed the words.

_Jack,The sea does not lie. Tell me the truth, or I'm coming and finding out for myself. _

_Will_

She read it with a frown. She wondered vaguely how Will had learned to write so nicely, since he had grown as a less then fabulously wealthy member of society. Then she pondered on the length, and how Jack had obtained the letter. And finally, she thought about the words written. She gently ignored her earlier proclamation, and read a second,

_William,_

_I can guarantee that Elizabeth has done no wrongdoing- the sea is full of bloody sharks, mate, don't listen to them. After all, people said I was a dru_

Elizabeth reread the letter. Where was the rest of it? She frowned, then groaned.

"What's going on, Jack? What didn't you tell me?" She looked at the next letter.

_William,_

_I am no liar! I wrote the truth before, and I won't be writing it again to meet your fancy. And what have I to fear, anyway? You're a bloody eunu _

Once again, the letter was unfinished. Elizabeth felt annoyance gnaw at her, then she wondered suddenly how Jack could write so nicely, as well. But then again, the pirate was an enigma. She looked at the next letter, then gasped.

* * *

"Forget Elizabeth- she was a good lay for a while, but if you stay with her any longer, Turner will come after you, and he has the ocean as his army! Remember that?"

"What are you talking about? Lizzy is the love of your life, mate! You can't just forget about her, and act as though she doesn't exist!"

"What's all this about Elizabeth? We're talking about the living part, remember? If you had stabbed Jones' heart, then you wouldn't be in this mess at all, but you didn't, and now you're here. Figure a way out, savvy?" Jack nodded slightly. Gibbs, fast asleep, didn't notice.

"What you're saying, mate," He murmured to the Jack sitting on his knee. "Is that I need to just put all this off until I get me and the crew out of this, right?" Jack nodded.

"But what are you going to run to? Before, it was all alright, you had the Pearl, but Elizabeth has the Pearl now! Remember? Escape, and you'll just be postponing the gallows' fun."

"And what's wrong with that?" Jack looked between the two Jack's as they fought, then stifled a yawn.

"Mates?" Three small heads turned to look at him. "I know I've got a big decision, but why don't you three mull on it _quietly _why I rest me eyes a little?" They nodded, and Jack fell into a sleep filled with miniature versions of himself fighting over Elizabeth and a peanut.

* * *

_Jack,_

_I've heard stories. Bad ones. I may be unable to go on land, but the sea is where I belong now. I hear things from sailors who've met their ends, Jack, and they've told me things about you and Elizabeth. More then one, and from more then one ship- the first was a sailor who knew me and you- a mutual acquaintance, if you will- he said that he'd seen you and Elizabeth- snogging, he said. Please, Jack, I need to know if it's true. _

_As a pirate, you may be dishonest, but as a friend, I beg you- be truthful…_

_What's going on?_

_Captain Will Turner_

Elizabeth didn't know when she had started crying, and stopped breathing, but her face was wet, and she suddenly gasped for air like a fish released into water after agonizing minutes on land.

"Will…" She whispered, digging her head into her hands. What had Jack replied? Why hadn't he told her? She gently plucked the letter from the top of the pile, and read the next,

_Will,_

_The truth, they say, hurts. It hurts more then a sword or a gunshot wound, sometimes, and I'd know, because I've had quite a few bad truths in my life, and many more stabs and shots. The thing about me and Elizabeth, we- and there is a we- have _

Another letter unfinished.

_William,_

_Who exactly was this 'mutual acquaintance'? And why did he feel it his place to _

She could understand easily why this letter had not been completed.

_Will,_

_I love _

She read the three words five times, before taking a deep breath, and biting her lip.

_William, _

_We all like to think we've found this lady, or that man, and that this lady- or that man- is the lady- or man- that we were born to meet, and we like to think that when we meet this person, we know it right away. This is bloody STUPID. I didn't know I loved Elizabeth when I first met her, you know? I like damsels in distress, alright, but I didn't think I wanted to 'snog' her, as that bloody 'acquaintance' said- who was that guy?- but now I do, so either get over yourself and it, or just come and kill me. I'm bloody drunk, right now, so it would probably be quite easy,_

_Your friend and ex-Captain_

_Jack Sparrow_

It was quite easy to see he'd been drunk- the lines were uneven, words misspelled, and the whole thing was covered with stains from ink and, possibly, rum. Elizabeth sighed, rubbing her temples. She skipped through letters, until she found a finished one.

_Will,_

_Don't trouble yourself-_

_Bloody liars, hoping, probably, to get out of their debts somehow. Tell our mutual acquaintance 'hello',_

_Captain Jack Sparrow _

* * *

"Dawn will be coming soon, Cap'n,"

"And let it come," Jack told him with a grin. Gibbs frowned.

"Cap'n?" Something clicked in his mind suddenly, and he grinned, "Cap'n- have you…?"

"I've got a plan!"

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I'm sorry if you didn't like the letters (or the chapter), but I wanted to explain a little more about what happened between Elizabeth and Will, plus I liked writing them. Sorry…

And sorry if anyone was OOC at all.

Anywho, I'd love a review, so you can, become a fan!

Sorry. Rhyme-y mood today.


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